Headed to the Powderhorn yesterday (2/29/12) determined to catch a good trout on a corkie. As with some great plans things did not work out the way I played it out in my head.
I headed out about noon, determined to wade and not do any drifting. As my friend Ronnie, says you just won’t catch a really big trout out of the boat. So with that in mind I waded all afternoon. Thought I have been catching lots of trout drifting off the end of the reef, I was determined to not give in.
I started on the left hand bank across from Indianola and made 2 different wades throwing the corkie with out a bite. So I decided to head back in the Powderhorn and try a small oyster reef that always holds fish, past the small back lakes on the right . I decided at that point to throw a topwater as I could not get a bite on a corkie. 3 small ones cooperated, with several misses, and they were not blow ups, more slurping it under. That was all I managed to catch there so I moved to a point with more mud bottom and threw plastics which resulted in 3 more, nothing to write home about.
At this point it was getting late, and I wanted to return to the first bank for the proverbial last bank. I threw plastics for awhile without success and then decided to make one last stand with the corkie, so out came a purple with a chartreuse tail fat boy. On my first cast I had one that looked to be about 4 hit it right at my feet and jump, and off he came.
Over the next 15 minutes as it was getting dark I managed to put 3 really good ones in the boat. All of them came with a slow jerk ,then letting it fall. They were not whacking it by any means, just there when you picked up the slack. I did manage to miss a couple, but after a really slow day it was a nice finish. At this point I was to far from the boat to go back and get the camera, so therefore no pictures.
So I guess I made all the wrong choices today. In the Powderhorn at least, they were clearly not on the hard bottom. Those last fish came on the drop when I was over waste deep throwing out into a 4 foot trench which is softer bottom covered with small grass and shell. After just whacking them the last few trips I was due to have a tough day, and this one qualified at that. We all would like to think we are going to smoke them every time we hit the water, but some days it just does not happen. But you know what? Standing in the bay, with not another boat in sight, sun going down, and catching those last 3 made it a great day to be alive.
So keep stopping in, and if you have something to say let me know. I love it when I hear from you guys. And I am really looking forward to next week. My brother and I are now debating, Amistad for a swimbait extravaganza, or Baffin and the chance to whack a big one. So tomorrow is another day. Tomorrow I am fishing with my friend Aaron who fishes for Strike King, and the only thing left to decide is whether it is fresh or salt. Oh life’s tough decisions!
Good Luck and Tight Lines!
